RIP Andrew Grove: Here's Why He Was So Important For Modern Technology

Andrew Grove, the former boss of Intel, has died aged 79. He was one of the key developers of the modern computer hardware we know and use and depend upon for our every interaction today, leading the engineering team that took it from memory producer to the processor superpower it is today.

Grove was employee #3 at Intel, joining the brand new company in 1968 alongside fellow creators Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. Yes, that Moore.

He was the director of engineering at the firm to start with, and it was his push for a switch from memory making to development of microprocessors -- and a deal to supply x86 processors to 1980s behemoth IBM -- that took the company to a new level, also helping unify PC hardware to make it the consistent format we see today.

Intel's current chairman, Andy Bryant, has whacked Grove's contributions to the IT universe into a nutshell just 45nm across, saying: "He combined the analytic approach of a scientist with an ability to engage others in honest and deep conversation, which sustained Intel’s success over a period that saw the rise of the personal computer, the Internet and Silicon Valley."

And like any good AI he's making plans to clone himself to live on, investing millions in the creation of the Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York, so that a new generation of techies might continue his work and help out his old mate Gordon with that law of his. [Intel via BBC]